1988 in Wales

Incumbents

• Prince of Wales – Charles
• Princess of Wales – Diana
• Secretary of State for Wales – Peter Walker
• Archbishop of Wales – George Noakes, Bishop of St David's
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Emrys Deudraeth

  Events

• 14 February - Lynette White is murdered in her Cardiff flat. The case remains controversial for over 20 years, with Jeffrey Gafoor eventually being convicted in 2003.
• 26 March - The Welsh Ornithological Society is founded at Aberystwyth.
• October - County Hall, Cardiff, officially opened as the headquarters of South Glamorgan County Council beside the disused Bute East Dock in the Atlantic Wharf area of Butetown, Cardiff.
• 4 November - British Rail operates the last steam locomotives in its ownership on the Vale of Rheidol Railway in regular service prior to its privatisation next year.
• date unknown - The complete Bible translation into Welsh that has been in use since 1620 is replaced with a new version, Y Beibl Cymraeg Newydd, translated directly from the original languages.

  Arts and literature

• January - BAFTA Cymru is founded.
• 28-31 May - First Hay Festival of literature held in Hay-on-Wye.
• The Gregynog festival is re-launched by Anthony Rolfe Johnson.
• The European Centre for Traditional and Regional Cultures opens in Llangollen.
• Independent record label Ankst is formed at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth by Alun Llwyd, Gruffudd Jones and Emyr Glyn Williams.
• This year also sees the foundation of:
• *Ffilm Cymru
• *New Welsh Review

  Awards

• National Eisteddfod of Wales
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - Elwyn Edwards, "Storm"
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - T. James Jones, "Ffin"
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - withheld

  New books

English language

• Tony Conran - Blodeuwedd
• Hilary Llywelyn-Williams - The Tree Calendar
• Sheenagh Pugh - Beware Falling Tortoises
• Oliver Reynolds - The Player Queen's Wife
• Bernice Rubens - Our Father
• Glanmor Williams - Recovery, Reorientation and Reformation

  Welsh language

• Idris Foster, Rachel Bromwich & D. Simon Evans, Culhwch ac Olwen
• Bobi Jones - Llenyddiaeth Gymraeg 1902-36
• Rhiannon Davies Jones - Cribau Eryri
• Manon Rhys - Cwtsho
• Wiliam Owen Roberts - Y Pla
• Huw Walters - Canu'r Pwll a'r Pulpud

  Music

• Ffa Coffi Pawb - Dalec Peilon
• Trebor Edwards - Goreuon Trebor
• Bonnie Tyler - Hide Your Heart

  Film

• Peter Greenaway directs Drowning by Numbers.

  Welsh-language films

• Stormydd Awst

  Broadcasting

Welsh-language television

• Pobol y Cwm becomes the first European soap opera to be broadcast daily.
• C'mon Midffild

  English-language television

• The Divided Kingdom

  Sport

• Association football
• *April – Newport County A.F.C., one of four Welsh teams in the English Football League, are relegated to the GM Vauxhall Conference.
• Athletics
• *Steve Jones becomes the first British competitor to win the New York Marathon.
• Rugby union
• *Wales top the 1988 Five Nations Championship winning the Triple Crown.
• *18 May to 11 June – Wales tour New Zealand, losing heavily in both Tests to the All Blacks.
• Snooker
• *2 May – Terry Griffiths is defeated in the final of the 1988 World Snooker Championship by Steve Davis.
• *27 November – Doug Mountjoy defeats Stephen Hendry in the final of the UK Snooker Championship to claim his second UK title.

  Births

• 9 January - Glyn Wise, TV personality
• 29 January - Catrin Stewart, actress
• 18 February - Mark Davies, footballer
• 24 March - Curtis McDonald, footballer
• 11 April - Nathan Stephens, athlete and Paralympian
• 20 June - Shefali Chowdhury, actress
• 5 October - Sam Warburton, rugby player
• 15 November - Daniel Evans, rugby player
• 13 December - Darcy Blake, footballer
• 22 December - Leigh Halfpenny, rugby player
• 28 December
• *Ched Evans, footballer
• *Elfyn Evans rally driver
• 31 December - Holly Holyoake, singer

  Deaths

• January - George Ewart Evans, folklorist and oral historian, 78
• 26 January - Raymond Williams, writer, 66
• 2 April - Euros Bowen, poet, 83
• April - T. Glynne Davies, poet, novelist and broadcaster, 62
• 13 May - Elfed Evans, footballer, 61
• 18 May - Brandon Rhys-Williams, politician, 60
• 15 June - David Blackmore, cricketer, 88
• 8 September - Mel Rosser, dual-code international rugby player, 87
• 23 September - Arwel Hughes, composer and conductor, 79
• 12 October - Ruth Manning-Sanders, poet and children's author, 102
• 16 October - John Gwilym Jones, dramatist, 84
• 11 November - William Ifor Jones, conductor and organist, 88
• 1 December - Alun Oldfield-Davies, controller of BBC Wales, 83
• 13 December - Brynmor John, politician, 54
• 25 December - W. F. Grimes, archaeologist, 83
• 27 December - Tecwyn Roberts, aerospace engineer, 63
• date unknown
• *John Morgan, journalist
• *Ray Price, rugby player, 64